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Home ownership or owner-occupancy is a type of housing tenure where an individual owns the home in which they live. The home can be an apartment, a house, condominium, or a housing cooperative. Besides the provision of housing, the owner-occupancy also doubles as a real estate investment. Some of the homes are built by the owners with the aim of occupying, while some are inherited, but the majority are bought from real estate developers as new homes or from previous owners.

Buying a house is often an expensive undertakings as the cost could be several times the owner's annual income. As a result of the high cost of acquiring a home and given that most people do not have enough savings to buy a home, there are packages like mortgage loans from financial institutions that can bridge the gap in return for interest. When a homeowner fails to meet the agreed repayment schedule which can run for several years, a foreclosure is the only way out through repossession.

Countries With the Highest Home Ownership Rates

Ownership Rates In Different Countries

Although Romania does not rank as a high-income economy within the European Union, it registers the highest home ownership rates in EU and has the most crowded dwellings. Romania has 96.4% of the population owning homes and comes above Singapore (90.8%), Slovakia (90.3%), Cuba (90.0%), Croatia (89.7%), Lithuania (89.4%), India (86.6%), and Hungary (86.3%). Other countries where the homeownership rate stands above 81% includes Hungary, Poland, Russia, Norway, Bulgaria, and Estonia. Countries that had between 75% and 81% of their population owning homes includes countries like Latvia, Malta, Mexico, Thailand, Spain, Czech Republic, Iceland, Slovenia, and Trinidad and Tobago. The lowest rates among the countries mentioned in the list were observed in countries like Canada (67.6%), Netherlands (67.8%), Ireland (68.6%), China (70%), Sweden (70.6%), and Belgium (71.4%). Other countries are having their population of between 72% and 75% owning homes included countries such as Luxembourg, Finland, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Brazil, and Portugal.

The Pros And Cons Of Home Ownership

Home ownership allows the owners the right to modify their homes to their liking (within the limits and restrictions given by the government). Home ownership gives the owner protection from eviction from their homes and acts as an inheritance. On the other hand the houses including the land they occupy are often expensive and costs such as monthly mortgage, repairs, insurance, and property tax could be easily be higher than monthly rental costs.

Why Rates Are Higher In Some Countries

Percentage of people owning homes are high in some countries and low in others, and this is due to a variety of reasons. Buildings often lose or gain value as a result of fluctuations in the real estate market. Sometimes, selling property can take a long timeMost homeowners see their home owning as an investment that can be sold or rented after renovation or waiting for the property to appreciate in value before selling. On the contrary, some people are unwilling to wait till the property appreciates significantly to sell at a profit. Taxes and other charges could also be a limiting factor.